What Type of Fuel Do Race Cars Use?
1 Answers
Race cars use unleaded gasoline, which shares the same components as the regular unleaded gasoline available at gas stations, but differs in composition ratios. The typical fuel composition for race cars consists of 13% oxides, 3% naphthenic compounds, 27% unsaturated compounds, 35% aromatic compounds, and 22% paraffins and isoparaffins. In contrast, regular fuel has a composition of 3% oxides, 3% naphthenic compounds, 8% unsaturated compounds, 42% aromatic compounds, and 44% paraffins and isoparaffins. Race fuel cannot be used in ordinary engines. To achieve immense power, F1 engines require specially developed fuel with a composition and high combustion frequency that enables engine speeds of up to 19,000 RPM (150 combustions per second). Such power output is unnecessary for regular road cars and offers no benefits to their engines. For everyday vehicles, the appropriate fuel grade can be determined based on the engine's compression ratio. Cars with a compression ratio between 8.6-9.9 should use 92-octane gasoline, those between 10.0-11.5 should use 95-octane, and higher compression ratios may require 98-octane. However, with advancements in technology, relying solely on compression ratio to determine fuel grade is no longer sufficient. High compression ratio engines can now be tuned to use lower-octane fuel due to other influencing factors such as ignition timing, turbocharging technology, and Atkinson cycle technology.
